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Trafton hosts ‘Kick Up Your Heels’

From left, Donis Chopelas and Mark Kirschenbaum, in front, join hands with Eileen Gonzales and Julie Kirschenbaum, in back, during the Trafton Community Center's Nov.26 'Kick Up Your Heels' square dancing lesson.

— image credit: Kirk Boxleitner

ARLINGTON — The Trafton Community told prospective square dancers to “Kick Up Your Heels” on Saturday, Nov. 26, and close to a dozen dancers-in-training turned out that evening to take advantage of Cristine Titus’ two-hour lesson.

“The more, the merrier,” Titus said. “If everyone who came here could bring one more person, we’d really be cooking.”

Titus is active in the Mt. Baker Square Dance Council, and she wanted to provide a gateway to square dancing for those who might not be able to commit to more intensive lessons.

“It’s introductory-level square dancing, so that members of the community can get together without having to join one of the clubs,” Titus said. “Of course, everyone knows Trafton, so this is a great place for it.”

Of the evening’s attendees, Mark Kirschenbaum joked that his wife Julie “made me do it,” while Julie Kirschenbaum noted that she’d seen word of the square dancing lesson in the newspaper.

“We’ve already done Zumba here at Trafton several times,” Julie Kirschenbaum said. “We’re glad to see that there’s different ages of dancers here tonight, both younger and more mature. Square dancing is something that anyone can do.”

“Our kid went to school here a while ago, so it was depressing to drive by and see it all dark,” Mark Kirschenbaum said. “Before, we had to drive to Darrington to go square dancing.”

Madeleine Fries is in high school now, but she attended kindergarten through fifth grade at the Trafton School. She was part of a quartet of teens who did their best to keep up with the dance moves called out by Titus.

“It was something fun to do,” Fries said. “It’s a good refresher from what I learned about square dancing in middle school, and I’m happy to see that they’re doing something with Trafton rather than letting it become nothing. What’s funny is that I feel so much taller in these rooms.”

For more information on the Trafton Community Center’s programs, email them at TraftonCC@gmail.com, log onto their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/TraftonCommunityCenter, or log onto their YouTube page at www.youtube.com/TraftonCC.

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